Your to do list just got simpler, with help from Apple Remote Desktop 3. Whether ensuring your client Macs are running the latest version of Mac OS X or coordinating a company-wide software upgrade, youre just a few mouse-clicks away from finished.

Apple Remote Desktop 3 lets you install software programs and applications, and perform updates on an unlimited number of Macs in your network simultaneously. The only computer you actually have to touch is yours.

It gives you the freedom to schedule tasks without interrupting the user or requiring any interaction. Just initiate the process  Apple Remote Desktop does the rest, including restarting systems when required. Using Apple or third-party tools, you can create custom install packages that Apple Remote Desktop can copy and install onto your remote systems. You can even specify successive installations for multiple software packages  no waiting.

If your client Macs include more than a few laptops that spend a lot of time on the road, no problem. The new AutoInstall feature lets you stage software for systems that are offline. Once the system is back on the network, the software is automatically copied and installed.

In Apple Remote Desktop 3, the Copy Items task is powered by a new file copy engine that supports 64-bit file sizes. PowerCopy lets you set the amount of network bandwidth the task may consume. It will also let you define user and group membership and permissions of the files on the remote computer. There is even an option to encrypt the data stream. And if PowerCopy finds a duplicate copy of a file already on a system, it will alert you and give a variety of options.

Copy incompressibletest file (1024 MB)

Time to copy to50 clients (seconds)

Network copy performance  100BaseT (1)

Copy Microsoft Officefolder (528 MB)

Time to copy to50 clients (seconds)

273

52

5.2X

Copy incompressibletest file (1024 MB)

Time to copy to50 clients (seconds)

472

103

4.6X

Making Packages

You can use the Package Maker application to create packages to distribute your own custom software and files. Copies of Apples Package Maker are included on your Apple Remote Desktop 3 CD. Visit the Apple Developer Connection for more information.